Social media seems to be much more than a trend. It also has become much more than a place for college kids and celebrities to interact. Specifically for nonprofits, social media has become a way to embrace the community and get their message out. Right now it seems that nonprofits are falling into three groups: the “involved”, the “wait and see”, and the “trying it out”. Those who are “involved”, like the Red Cross, are able to attract donations, volunteers, media coverage, and employees. Those who are “trying it out” maybe have a younger employee who takes it upon themselves to get involved. The only problem with this is that if there is no overall plan then it could be worse than not using social media at all. Make sure that you know exactly how you want to integrate everything to achieve your company goals. Those who are in the “wait and see” group simply don’t know where to start and they probably don’t see the value.
So why use social media?
First of all you should use social media because it is here to stay. It is not a trend and if you neglect to take advantage of it you are missing out on an opportunity to connect with your community. Social media is low cost and low risk. Maybe you start a Facebook page and you can’t get any fans. So what! You start over, try something new, and find your niche. The ability to reach your community and push an overall message in a low cost way should be reason enough to try it out. Use a blog to send out a message, use a Facebook page to tell your story and promote company events, use Twitter to promote all of your other outlets. Main point: Use social media.
How do you get started?
The first thing you can do is follow a nonprofit that is using social media already. The American Red Cross participates in multiple networks. They would be a great group to watch and learn from. Find multiple organizations who are using it, try what you like, connect with them and ask questions. Next thing you want to do is develop your message; your overall plan. Decide what will be your “home base”. I would recommend reading a blog by Jeff Bullas, Jeff’s Blog. He talks about the importance of a blog and how it should be your main message; it should tell people who you are as a company. Jeff also talks about how to promote your blog with Twitter. Most social media is user-friendly so don’t be intimidated. There are a ton of blogs that talk about social media and I have generated a small list below to get you started.
Your social media plan will be designed to help you reach out to your community, so let it. The last tip I have is to have fun. Allow your passion for your company to ooze out through your social media. If you care about what you do and you want other people to know about it, you will not fail.
brianrandazzo 
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